McGrattan muscles his way into spotlight

George Johnson, Calgary Herald10.16.2009

Calgary Flames enforcer Brian McGrattan hit the Vancouver Canucks where it really hurts, on the scoreboard, as well as battling Darcy Hordichuk during Friday's NHL contest at the Pengrowth Saddledome. McGrattan notched a Gordie Howe hat trick, scoring a goal, picking up an assist and engaging in a fight.

He seems to have wandered right off the set of Where the Wild Things Are. In costume.

Calgary, meet your new folk hero.

“Nice for my first start at home,’’ agreed a beaming Brian McGrattan, soaking in the sort of attention usually reserved for an Iginla, a Kiprusoff or a Phaneuf. “Great that my parents are here, too. They came in last night. And brought my little dog.’’

Your, um, LITTLE dog?!

“Yeah. A five-pound Pomeranian. His name is Bear.’’

Of course, it is.

“He slept with me during my pre-game nap.’’

Of course, he did.

Understand, Brian McGrattan loves to fight. The way Jamie Oliver loves to cook, Mick Jagger loves to strut and Bocelli loves to sing. Born to it, this broth of a boy. Scoring goals? Well, that’s somewhat more of a mystery to the sizable son of a steel man from Hamilton.

Yet, there was the big fella Friday night, registering the coveted Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a fight — in Calgary’s 5-3 win over Vancouver to make the best kind of first impression on the Saddledome regulars. Converting a Dustin Boyd pass for his first goal in an eternity, shovelling the puck net-ward for linemate Boyd to redirect two minutes before his unlikely strike and scoring a last-punch KO over Vancouver cruiserweight Darcy Hordichuk.

Quite the debut.

“I was saying to Conny (Craig Conroy) before the game started that it’s been 91 games since I scored’’ — April 3, 2006, a 6-4 win at Ottawa over Atlanta. “That’s a long time. About time I got one.’’

As he waited impatiently for a wonky shoulder to heal, to be able to get into the lineup and reboot his career, McGrattan kept repeating, over and over and over, that he was “dying to punch somebody out.’’ One of his pledged goals this year is to lead the loop in fighting majors.

Just 2:32 into the fray, in Game 3 of his Flames’ tenure, McGrattan’s wish was finally granted, as he and Hordichuk shucked the oven mitts and let fly.

“Actually, I came off the bench and he had two gloves in my face,’’ recalled McGrattan. “I think he was even a little hungrier for it than I was.’’

The McGrattan-Hordichuk bout was only the main event. An undercard featuring Brandon Prust and Tanner Glass broke out at the same time over by the boards.

“Before we went out, Prustie and I were talking about how we wanted to be physical, give the team a spark, some energy. Then we’re both fighting on the first shift. How good is that?’’

McGrattan’s nickname is Big Ern, after Bill Murray’s character, Ernie McCracken, in the 1996 Woody Harrelson slapstick bowling comedy Kingpin. Well, Big Ern’s final right hand sent Hordichuk spinning like a lone head pin hit square in the centre of an alley. Steeeerike!

But lest anyone think those mitts are used exclusively for manual labour/unanesthetized plastic surgery, he fought past a backchecking Hordichuk to the net to slip a tracer-beam Boyd cross-ice pass beyond a frightfully common Roberto Luongo for Calgary’s fifth goal.

“Boydie was going and I just tried to beat (Hordichuk) to the net. Thank God, he got it over to me.’’

McGrattan was asked which felt better, that looping right that dropped Hordichuk like a sack of wet grain or the sight of the puck squeezing in over Luongo’s left shoulder?

“Normally, I’d say the fight,’’ he replied after consideration. “Or maybe a toss-up. But, well, it has been three years since I scored. So I’d have to go with the goal.

“There’s still room for an enforcer in the game. Gone are the days where a guy could take one shift, get in a fight and that’s all. But if you can play five-to-seven minutes on the checking line, be defensively responsible and stick up for your teammates . . . there’ll always be room for a guy like that.’’

The McGrattan story is one that intrigues. He’s launching a comeback after voluntarily entering the NHL substance-abuse program last year. And, if you check the scoring stats, that gives him three points in three games, and puts him one behind Jarome Iginla. Momentarily, at any rate.

“It’s a really good thing,’’ said Flames’ coach Brent Sutter. “It’s pretty neat. He’s worked hard to get to this point and he was rewarded tonight . . . in different ways.’’

Where the Wild Thing was last night was in the spotlight, looking like someone who realized how great the game is to play, how much he enjoys it, and how wonderful it is to be able to pick up the pieces again.

“It was a tough year, last year,’’ McGrattan said softly.

“It’s great to have this second chance in my career. I really appreciate it. And I want to make the most of it.’’

He’s off to a flying start.

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